Dodge Verna and Brisa: the Dodge-badged Hyundai small cars

The Dodge Verna, Dodge Attitude and Dodge Brisa were Dodge-badged versions of Hyundai small cars sold in Latin America. The Verna and Attitude were based on the Hyundai Accent and marketed in Mexico, while the Brisa was sold in Venezuela until 2006 and assembled there by Mitsubishi Motors.

Dodge Verna and Brisa at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Hyundai Accent, the car Dodge sold as the Verna, Attitude and Brisa.

History of the Dodge Verna and Brisa

The Hyundai Accent was introduced in 1994 for the 1995 model year as a replacement for the Hyundai Excel. It continued to be called Dodge Brisa in Venezuela and Hyundai Excel in markets such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Indonesia and Australia. In Korea the Accent was replaced in 2000 by the Hyundai Verna, although most international markets kept the Accent name. In Mexico the Accent was marketed until 2014 by Chrysler as the Dodge Attitude, previously known as the Verna by Dodge, and in Venezuela Chrysler marketed these models as the Dodge Brisa until 2006.

The Brisa was assembled by Mitsubishi Motors at its plant in Barcelona, Venezuela. That local assembly was part of Chrysler’s strategy of selling small imported cars under Dodge badges in markets where the brand needed an entry-level model.

The first-generation Accent was sold with 1.3 and 1.5-litre petrol engines. In Australia the 1.5-litre G4EK SOHC unit produced 91 hp, and from November 1997 a twin-cam G4FK version produced 99 hp at 6,000 rpm with 134 Nm at 4,000 rpm; the Accent GT in America had a 105 hp version. In the United Kingdom the car came as a saloon, liftback and coupe with 1.3, 1.5 12-valve and 1.5 16-valve engines, and the Accent proved so popular in Australia that it was the country’s third best-selling vehicle in 1996 and 1998, with more than 44,000 sales in 1998 and about 200,000 between 1994 and 2000.

The Accent was also produced in China by Beijing Hyundai, assembled in Russia at TagAZ until 2011 and later at the HMMR plant in Saint Petersburg as the Hyundai Solaris, and sold in Puerto Rico as the Hyundai Brio. In Indonesia it was first assembled and sold as the Bimantara Cakra from 1996 to 1998 and then as the Accent after the Asian financial crisis, and in China a related model was sold as the Kia Qianlima.

Design and features

• Dodge badges on Hyundais: the Verna, Attitude and Brisa were rebadged Hyundais.
• Latin American markets: Mexico and Venezuela were the main homes of these models.
• Local assembly: the Brisa was built by Mitsubishi in Barcelona, Venezuela.
• Accent base: the same car sold worldwide as the Hyundai Accent or Verna.

Dodge Verna and Brisa versions

• Dodge Verna (Mexico): the first Dodge-badged Accent.
• Dodge Attitude (Mexico, to 2014): the later name for the same car.
• Dodge Brisa (Venezuela, to 2006): the locally assembled version.

These cars were Dodge’s smallest models in Latin America, well below the Dodge Neon and the Dodge Stratus that Dodge sold at home. More Dodge models are in the Dodge collection.

Sources

• Hyundai Accent, English Wikipedia: Dodge Verna, Attitude and Brisa, engines, markets